Gender Concepts in Children

when some of the first textbooks came out on gender identity and gender roles. Research was done on intersex children, who are born with characteristics of both sexes. It was then determined that there is just as great a role of society on gender identity as biology is.

Sex-related differences in thinking and cognition are sometimes looked at through standardized testing, which has its limits in actually looking at how real-life problems are solved. In addition, there have been biases found in existing research. Even so, males seem to be better at aiming, while females are better at fine motor skill and coordination. Men can visualize geometry better, while women are better at verbal memory and object location memory.

Women read body cues and facial cues better than males and have better verbal memory and spelling abilities. Men in Africa who can travel furthest from their tribe without getting lost have better spatial abilities. This too can be biased so that there is reinforcement for those individuals that have learned to do something well. This selfselects those that are good at a task.

According to perspectives more related to the social and cultural sides of gender identity, there are gender schemas, which are gendered cultural ideals of boys and girls that determine their preferences. Think of pink clothing for girls and blue clothing for boys. These things begin in infancy. Gender stereotypes get reinforced even more as children get older, which can lead to sexism. It leads to the ideals of girls staying at home and boys going out to the workforce.

Much of these things have changed over the years and are altered further when dealing with homosexual couples. The person in the same-sex relationship who behaves more closely like those of their opposite gender is called a congenital gender invert. This type of person has more problems feeling comfortable in society.

GENDER CONCEPTS IN CHILDREN

There have been a lot of theories about how children develop the concept of gender. One question is: do infants understand gender? Children likely seek information about the meaning of gender and what it means to them. This is how they learn to socialize.

Infants can recognize the different genders at three months of age and by six months, understand the differences between male and female voices as well as male and female faces. By ten months of age, they can form stereotypes about gender, although they are primitive.

About half of all 18-month-old girls understand the gender differences but boys of the same age tend not to be so accurate. Children of two years of age know which gender group they belong to and can pick out the correct picture that corresponds to their gender. By two years of age, children will play with toys that match their gender, although girls do this earlier than boys. Children, according to most studies, know their gender by 18 months and seek information about what it means.

Stereotypes become more solidified by 2 to 3 years of age. They understand abstracts related to femininity and masculinity, and they know about roles, tools, and possessions that belong to each gender. Physical aggression stereotypes are found in early childhood. Stereotypes about other things, like sports and adult roles, get larger as the child gets older. They become more sophisticated in identifying the different stereotypes related to gender. At about 8 years, they recognize masculinity and femininity.

There becomes more flexibility with regard to gender after about six or so years of age. The peak age of gender rigidity is about 5 to 6 years of age. Personal interests and knowledge will play a role in either the further development or hindrance of a child’s stereotype formation.

Children ultimately begin to evaluate the two genders differently. They become aware of a membership in the male or female group, identifying with their group and developing a prejudice regarding the other group. Preschool children will feel better about their own gender than the opposite sex. Children who feel closer to their own gender have more prejudices regarding the other gender.

Children also start at an early age to anticipate their upcoming adult roles. Girls can feel like a princess who are looking forward to their prince and boys can anticipate their future role as a husband with a wife.

When do children see a difference in status between boys and girls? Greater power is seen in males, while more helplessness is seen in females at a young age, although this